2021 NCAA Div. I Championship Notes – 165 pounds

The following are notes about the 165-pound weight class at the 2021 NCAA Division I

The 2021 NCAA Division I Championships will return to St. Louis for the ninth time on March 18-20.

Championships that will take place March 18-20 in St. Louis.

Quarterfinal Highlights

#8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) 3-1 sv – If this is indeed the final season of Stanford wrestling, the Cardinal sophomore upset the top-ranked Hawkeye with a takedown 16 seconds left in sudden victory. This marked the second straight NCAAs that Marinelli lost in the quarterfinal as the No. 1 seed.
#5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) won by medical forfeit #4 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) — Hartman collected his school’s ninth all-time All-American honor when Lewis, the 2019 NCAA champion, was unable to wrestle. The Hokie suffered the shoulder injury earlier this season and barely made it out of Thursday’s second round
#3 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. #6 Keegan O’Toole (Missouri), 9-6 — After surrendering a takedown to the Tiger freshman in the first period, the Panther stormed back with two takedowns of his own for the victory. Wentzel’s second takedown also led to a cradle and two-point nearfall that gave him a 5-3 lead. O’Toole fought back with a late reversal and stalling point against the Panther.
#7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) major dec. #2 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State), 13-4 — The Buckeye saw the Sun Devil take a 4-2 lead after one period off a pair of takedowns before Smith rallied with a pair of reversals in the second period before Smith put it away with a takedown and four-point nearfall in the third period. Valencia appeared to be injured during the match.

Second Period Notes

Virginia Tech’s 2019 NCAA champ Mekhi Lewis held on to beat Navy’s Tanner Skidgel, 3-2, despite having to take a full injury timeout to deal with the left shoulder injury that has hampered the Hokie sophomore this season.
Stanford’s Shane Griffith rallied from a 4-0 deficit — after North Dakota State’s Luke Weber scored a takedown and two-point nearfall in the first 44 seconds — and beat the Bison, 7-5. The Cardinal sophomore battled back by scoring a takedown in the first period to cut margin to 4-3 before adding a second—period escape, another takedown with 47 seconds left and finally a riding time point.
Arizona State’s No. 2 seed Anthony Valencia scored a power double with seven seconds left in sudden victory to give the Sun Devil a 6-4 victory over Northern Illinois’ Izzak Olejnick. Valencia trailed 3-2 after two periods.